Minneapolis Public Schools

William A. Draves, CAE, is a chief executive officer of his organization, a Certified Association Executive, leader in his field, and acclaimed futurist.

In 2000 he and his colleague, Julie Coates, laid out nine shifts that would happen by 2020, in their book Nine Shift: Work, life and education in the 21st Century.
The BBC flew their global business reporter from China to their home to interview them for a half-hour program that aired worldwide to millions.
Draves has been in management and leadership positions in a variety of work and volunteer situations. He has taught online for over twenty years, including teaching at the graduate level. With a particular interest in mentoring young people, he teaches a variety of leadership courses. He has been interviewed by Wired.com, The New York Times, NPR, NBC Nightly News, Washington Post, Virtual University News, Chronicle of Higher Education and other national media. Draves has spoken around the world, including Japan, Russia, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Mexico, England and throughout Canada and the U.S. His TED talk has been heard by thousands.

For more than forty years Daniel's professional life has focussed on the twin themes of leadership and lifelong learning. This started with two decades' service in the Canadian Army, during which he ran numerous trades and tactical courses, organized collective training, commanded an armour squadron, and deployed to Bosnia with a Multi-National Brigade Group during the troubles there.

After retiring from the service Daniel built a second career at the Continuing Studies division of Langara College. In twenty plus years there he progressed through every operational CS role, from Coordinator to Dean. He hired and managed instructors and staff, developed courses and programmes in multiple subject areas, and successfully marketed cost-recovery certificates and diplomas to the public. During his seven years as Dean, Daniel pioneered public-private partnerships and international education within a CS context, turned CS into a valued and high performing unit within the College, and more than doubled CS margins (making Langara’s the largest and most successful such operation in western Canada). Daniel currently lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Since retiring from Langara, he has continued to focus on leadership and lifelong learning, both as a trainer and consultant. Daniel's other interests include amateur photography, wilderness backpacking, travel, and reading literature and history.